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Breakthrough research finds genes which may help smoking cessation

Scientists supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, have for the first time identified genes that might increase a person's ability to abstain from smoking.

2 Apr 2007

Precautions against C. difficile infection

Illness related to C. difficile, a bacterium commonly found in hospitals, is becoming more widespread, more severe, and harder to treat, reports the April 2007 issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch . Health experts are worried that a new, more virulent strain may be to blame.

2 Apr 2007

Excessive weight gain during pregnancy directly associated with having an overweight child

Pregnant women who gain excessive or even appropriate weight, according to current guidelines, are four times more likely than women who gain inadequate weight to have a baby who becomes overweight in early childhood.

2 Apr 2007

SCHIP program needs substantial work

When given health insurance through the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP), teens see their doctors more often, racial disparities are eliminated and more preventive care is received.

2 Apr 2007

Most pediatricians use untrained interpreters to communicate with families not proficient in English

Most pediatricians use untrained interpreters to communicate with families who are not proficient in English, according to the results of a nationwide survey of doctors led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

2 Apr 2007

Mexico City lawmakers begin hearings on abortion during first three months

Mexico City lawmakers on Wednesday began hearings on a bill that would allow pregnant women in the city to obtain a legal abortion during the first three months' gestation, the Los Angeles Times reports (Tobar, Los Angeles Times, 3/29). Lawmakers from Mexico's Party of the Democratic Revolution recently proposed the measure.

2 Apr 2007

FDA discourages consumers from purchasing Accutane online

FDA last week launched a Web page aimed at discouraging consumers from purchasing the acne drug isotretinoin, sold by Roche under the brand name Accutane, on the Internet, Dow Jones/Marketwatch reports.

2 Apr 2007

USAID is extending its HIV/AIDS prevention and care project in Pakistan

USAID is extending its HIV/AIDS prevention and care project in Pakistan by awarding grants to three organizations working to combat the disease among high-risk groups in the country, USAID Director for Pakistan Jonathan Addleton said last week at the grant awards ceremony, the PakTribune reports.

2 Apr 2007

Efficacy of Ugandan HIV prevention programs decreasing

The efficacy of Uganda's HIV prevention programs is decreasing because a new generation of young people are no longer receiving the messages of fidelity that helped curb the country's HIV epidemic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Washington Post reports.

2 Apr 2007

Bahrain launches campaign to involve religious leaders in fight against HIV/AIDS

Officials in Bahrain have launched a wide-scale campaign aimed at involving religious leaders in the country's fight against HIV/AIDS, the Gulf Daily News reports.

2 Apr 2007

California Senate Committee approves bill that would allow HIV-positive men to have sperm washed

The California Senate Health Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to have their sperm washed and used for fertility treatments, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, under certain guidelines, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Apr 2007

About 50% of people fail to take medication as directed

USA Today on Thursday examined how multiple studies have shown that only about half of people with chronic conditions in the U.S. and other developed countries continue to take medication as directed.

2 Apr 2007

Dingell says tobacco tax increase might not be good source of funding for SCHIP

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) on Thursday at a forum sponsored by the Center for American Progress said increasing the federal tobacco tax might not be a practical way to fund a reauthorization of SCHIP and indicated that a better funding source would be to reduce Medicare Advantage payments, CQ HealthBeat reports.

2 Apr 2007

Critics question Wikipedia-style web site created by physicians

Several Cleveland Clinic physicians recently launched the Web site Ask Dr Wiki -- a medical version of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that users can edit -- but critics have raised concerns about the reliability of the new site, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

2 Apr 2007

HHS Inspector General Office to review conflicts of interest for NIH grantees, employees

HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson has announced that investigators will examine conflict-of-interest policies at NIH regarding scientists who are not employed by the agency but who use federal grant money, the AP/New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

2 Apr 2007

AARP says, "give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices"

With the support of its 2.6 million members in New York, AARP is calling on the U.S. Senate to stand with the overwhelming majority of Americans and vote to give Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.

2 Apr 2007

Fragmented sleep increases spontaneous pain in women

Sleep continuity disturbance impairs endogenous pain-inhibitory function and increases spontaneous pain in women

2 Apr 2007

Multiple sclerosis patients need better socio-economic support

People with multiple sclerosis need much more practical help and better care support, according to a study published in the latest Journal of Advanced Nursing.

2 Apr 2007

Successful tuberculosis treatment depends upon patient adherence

Nearly 2 million people die from tuberculosis each year, mainly in the poorest countries.

31 Mar 2007

Common asthma inhaler powered by a new propellant is safe and effective

Conducted by two university professors and a director for the Food and Drug Administration, the review examines the consequences of switching to hydrofluoroalkane, which is replacing chlorofluorocarbon, or CFC, as a key ingredient in albuterol inhalers designed to relieve asthma. The FDA has ruled that U.S. sales of CFC albuterol inhalers be prohibited after 2008.

31 Mar 2007